South Korea’s soft-power approach through Hallyu has shown some amazing success in these recent past years. With international recognition of artists like Psy, BIGBANG and BTS, Kpop has become a powerhouse industry in South Korea.

C: BTS Facebook

So how did Kpop become so influential today? To understand the emergence of Kpop we have to go back to 1997 Asian financial crisis. The crisis started in Thailand after the collapse of their currency. The crisis spread hitting Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea the hardest. The debt emergency in Korea stopped the export of many goods. With no natural resources and a economy that was overly dependent on chaebols (South Korean mega conglomerates) South Korea was forced to rethink their economy.

Then President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Kim Daejung, made the decision to push information technology and (surprise!) pop culture to gain revenue. Using the United States and the UK…